| N3WXW |
Rating:      |
2008-07-27 | |
| Great receiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I am giving this receiver a 5. I am not comparing it a present day receiver. This is a good all around general receiver. I use it with the Icom IC 7072 interface. It allows me to use it with my IC-720a in split mode. I like the receiver in the R-70 just slightly more than the IC 720a. The noise floor is low. My R-70 has narrow filters installed . I use a beverage antenna for it .I like the built in speaker just fine. Pass band tune and notch work perfectly . I do most all of my HF listing with this receiver . I keep my transceivers. coupled up to my shacks computer on the DX cluster
I am just as happy using this receiver as any of my current day transeivers. TS-2000,TS-570,FT-990,IC 706.
My old receivers are NATIONAL NC-98,NC-77X,HALLICRAFTERS SX-99,HEATHKIT SB-303, DRAKE R4B.
73 de ED |
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| OE5BFM |
Rating:      |
2008-05-29 | |
| Really a Keeper |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I do not repeat the comments before, just the following:
First about I had really a lot of RX, from FRG-7 to the NRD-535, so I can compare.
The R70 has really fine filters for SSB and CW, but a very cheap and bad one for AM. So the serios DXer should modify this. Because there ist not much space inside, possible it´s better done by the dealer. KIWA offers filters which can exchanged easily.
The R70 tolerates also very long antennas, great!
I also suggest to do the KIWA-Audio-Mod. Here the cheap capacitors were exchanged to high quality ones for studio equipment with the same values.
The mod for switching on the RX-Amplifier for Mediumwave can easily be done (only cutting one wire), but I do not suggest to remove the built in Mediumwave-Attenuator, because it has only abt. 3DB attenuation and cannot be reached easily.
So, especial after the mod for the AM-Filter (I prefer abt. 4 KHz at 6DB because so the passbandtuning is working great), this RX is, regarding to the performance, very short behind the NRD 535, but much cheaper and therefore very recommandable! |
|
| K4RO |
Rating:      |
2008-04-09 | |
| 25 years and still working great |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased an IC-R70 in 1982 while I was still in college. At the time, I thought that I had died and gone to receiver heaven. A quarter century later, it is still going strong. While it lacks some of the features of modern receivers such as memory channels and DSP, the IC-R70 remains a very useful utility radio today. Features I especially like include the front firing speaker, wide range pass band tuning, and a very effective notch filter.
There are some quirks as others have pointed out. The archaic synthesizer has some peculiar behavior at the band edges, but nothing that interferes with the radio's performance or frequency coverage. The radio is NOT computer controllable, as far as I can tell.
The R-70 was my first Icom radio, and I wouldn't be surprised if this radio is still working here two decades from now. It turned out to be a very good investment. The carry handle and 12V capability make it useful in a number of environments. Good luck finding an IC-R70 -- I am keeping mine. :-) |
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| KPAX2 |
Rating:      |
2007-12-24 | |
| Laboratory Grade Receiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Superb Dynamic Range, Super low noise. Laboratory Grade Quality, built like Professional test Equipment. |
|
| KC0ZXB |
Rating:      |
2007-03-17 | |
| Excellent rig! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I have a used R-70 with the the optional 250hz CW filter installed. I have owned a lot of Shortwave receivers over the past years that I have been in the hobby: Realistic DX160,100,200,300, Kenwood R-1000, Grundig S350, Icom R71A. I found this radio to be of great build quality unlike a few things on the later R71A. Even for a early-mid 1980's radio it could still hold its own against modern day radios with the exception of those several thousand dollar rigs with the built in DSP and such, and all they have is just more features, but the raw performance is roughly the same.
Pros:
Excellent sensitivity
Strong Front End
Excellent features such as: Passband tuning, notch filter, RIT, dual noise blankers, dual VFO's, three tuning steps, 10db preamp, Monitor, three stage AGC, dial lock, Ham and General Coverage tuning option, dimmer, squelch.
Cons: No wide/narrow filter switch, finicky around the edges of the mhz bands, no memories, no direct keypad freq entry, audio leaves some to be desired. Audio was remedied by using a 1/8" mono adapter with two PC speakers.
In all this radio is more sensitive than anything I have had before. A good buy if you find a clean one on eBay or any outlet. Anyone who says they cannot stand up to a newer or a rig that costs more has a screw loose in my opinion. |
|
| KB4ZEB |
Rating:     |
2007-02-04 | |
| Fun Radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This was a fun radio to operate, NO memories,but nice to tune around and listen to ham bands
and shortwave. It tuned in rtty and wx etc fine
thru my PK-232 TNC, Pretty radio for the station
and fun to run,,THO I would recommend a external
nice quality speaker,,ZEB--KB4ZEB |
|
| NIGHTHAWK |
Rating:      |
2007-01-01 | |
| Great early-mid 80's rig |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently purchased this used R-70 off eBay for a fairly decent price considering it had the optional 250hz CW filter already installed. I have owned many Shortwave receivers over the past two years that I have been in the hobby: Realistic DX160,100,200,300, Kenwood R-1000, Grundig S350, Icom R71A. I currently have a Kenwood R-2000 alongside the R-70. I found this radio to be of good build quality unlike a few things on the later R71A. Even for a early-mid 1980's radio it could still hold its own against modern day radios with the exception of those several thousand dollar rigs, and all they have is just more features, but raw preformace is roughly the same.
Pros:
Excellent sensitivity
Strong Front End
Excellent features such as: Passband tuning, notch filter, RIT, dual noise blankers, dual VFO's, three tuning steps, 10db preamp, Monitor, three stage AGC.
Cons: No wide/narrow switch, gets finicky around the edges of the mhz bands, no memories, no direct keypad freq. entry, audio leaves some to be desired.
Considering what I paid for the radio and the age the cons are not a big deal, I wasn't looking for a $1,000 rig. In all this radio is more sensitive than anything I have had before. A good buy if you find a clean one on eBay or any outlet. |
|
| W6QE |
Rating:      |
2004-10-18 | |
| Great Radio! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've owned my R-70a for a long time. It's still cranking out good, clear and crisp audio. When I bought my IC-756Pro2, just out of curiosity, I hooked them both up to the same antenna via a coaxial switch. Flipping back and forth produced very little difference in the signal strength. Of course the Pro2 receiver has more versatility, but he signal strength measured was the same.
It's a great receiver and I'm pleased to have it in my all Icom shack. |
|
| K8WV |
Rating:      |
2003-09-09 | |
| Great "vintage" receiver |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
My transceiver is an Icom 740, an early 80's rig widely reputed to have an excellent receiver. It does. The R70 is said to be very similar to the receiver section of the Icom 751. I don't know about that, but the R70 is VERY impressive.
I run the R70 in a configuration which allows simultaneous receive with the 740, from the same antenna. Except for filter options, the R70 is almost indistinguishable form the 740. The 740 is a better receiver, but the difference is slight in actual operation.
I really don't have an informed opinion about the R70 as an SWL receiver. I have great fun with it for casual listening, and I'd bet it would hold its own for SWL DXing. But it's certainly on a par with anything in its current price class.
On eBay clean R70's have been recently selling for around $200. Mine was a bit less. This is an OUTSTANDING receiver at that price.
Ask pointed questions of the seller and buy a clean one. It's well worth the price. (There's something to be said for dual simultaneous receive, too.)
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|
| N7YJ |
Rating:      |
2003-02-28 | |
| Never wanted anything else. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
OK, like the other gentlemen will say, there are better receivers out there, for a price. The IC-R71 and newer rigs have a bunch of memories, computer chip controls, etc. I got one new in '83 a had it with me on Adak Island. I would listen to some of the football scores on shortwave and then go to the Officer's Club and make my pronouncements as the AFRTS stuff was delayed. Got a lot of free drinks. The R70 is similar in controls to an old time tube job, but with PLL tuning and digital readout frequency screen. You can "play" with this one. I did have Kiwa put a combination 3.8/6 dual filter board in with steep skirts several years back. Great improvement in adjacent signal rejection. Kiwa also dropped in their audio upgrade which is comprised of fast decay capacitors. The audio is much more "crisp". Made a great receiver even better. I use the R70 for long haul BCB reception with a high quality loop. Bottom line, great basic receiver performance at a good used market price.
Regards, Kevin N7KKR |
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